But I think it's important to keep P moving as much as possible. She has 24/7 turnout but I think regular exercise helps her a lot. I've been doing a lot of warm-up exercises at the walk such as circles and serpentines and figure-eights. I do this on the ground or in the saddle and I also do a variety of leg-yield exercises on the long sides and the quarterlines. If anyone has any suggestions on warm-up patterns, please let me know as I'd love to try them out.
P has also been having more trouble with her teeth. She quids her hay more often, including chopped hay, so I've been looking into other forage alternatives for her. I tried one brand of hay stretcher in the past and didn't think it soaked very well - there may be other brands out there that work better.
I'd like to keep her on something as close to hay as possible. She's a pretty easy keeper, so I don't really want to feed a lot of alfalfa, but alfalfa cubes are really common around here. I know they make a nice soaked mash. I've also seen alfalfa/timothy cubes which would be less alfalfa. I'm not sure that I've ever seen straight timothy cubes. Does anybody feed straight timothy cubes? Has anyone tried any other forage alternatives for horses with bad teeth?
the alfalfa as the main forage might be a bit rich. I like the idea of the timothy/alfalfa mix. I feed Irish soaked alfalfa in the winter to help him keep weight on but it's just a bit not his main forage. I can't see why you couldn't do the same with the timothy.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think straight alfalfa will be too rich. But I've never seen straight timothy cubes for sale around here. I might have to try the timothy/alfalfa mix!
Deletegood luck figuring it out! i need to get my mare's teeth looked at too...
ReplyDeleteThanks! We're trying not to float teeth too much here, but getting them checked out is definitely good!
DeleteI do soaked beet pulp. It only takes about 5-10 mins to soak as compared with 30+ mins for those alfalfa cubes. You can also feed a LOT of it. I bought one of those metal mesh trash cans from BB&B for about $6... I put the BP in there, stick the trash can in another regular-sized bucket, fill the whole thing with water, and leave for about 10 mins. To drain, just pick up the mesh trash can... volia, instant strainer!
ReplyDeleteI'd definitely get her teeth checked - our big guy, who is only 13, started quidding his hay. Turns out he has a broken tooth! And my 27 yo has also had broken teeth before - get those taken care of and he's back to eating normally. Well, as normally as one can - he gets obscene amounts of soaked Senior feed and rice bran, lol! Oldies are a bit tough sometimes!
Great idea on the beet pulp strainer - 5-10 minutes to soak is much better than 30. Yes, it's probably time to get her teeth checked again - our vet hadn't been floating much because her teeth were wearing pretty quickly, but a check might be worth it!
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